Vertically Integrated Optical Transceivers for Wavelength Division Multiplexing

At least one embodiment pertains to systems and techniques deployed to facilitate data communications using optical fibers. For example, at least one embodiment pertains to optical transceivers that support efficient wavelength division multiplexing for fiber-optic communications.

1 2 N In fiber-optic communications, data is carried between a transmitting device and a receiving device by electromagnetic (e.g., infrared, visible, etc.) waves that are modulated, e.g., with electrical radio frequency (RF) signals. Compared with electrical communication cables, fiber-optic cables allow higher ranges, bandwidths, and throughputs of transmission and are also more immune to detrimental interference. With wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) techniques, a single fiber-optic cable is capable of transmitting data over multiple channels that differ by the wavelength of the carrier optical beam. Since crosstalk between different spectral components of electromagnetic waves is weak in typical optical fibers, propagation of beams of different wavelengths (channels), e.g., λ, λ, . . . λ, occurs independently and with little interference. This facilitates parallel communication of information via different channels. A transmitting device can, therefore, impart individual modulations (which can be analog or digital) to different channels, combine (multiplex) the individual spectral components into a single beam, and transmit the combined beam via an optical fiber. A receiving device can split (demultiplex) the received beam back into multiple spectral components, extract modulation from each component, and convert the extracted modulation into the data carried by various spectral components (channels).

Examples of WDM technology include Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). CWDM combines multiple optical signals at different wavelengths into a single optical signal and transmits it over a single optical fiber. CWDM uses a wider wavelength separation, such as about 80 nanometers (nm), which means it supports fewer channels and has lower power budgets, making it suitable for shorter distances, up to about 80 kilometers (km). CWDM requires less complex equipment and lower-cost optical components, making it a cost-effective solution for applications that do not require dense wavelength separation. In contrast, DWDM uses narrower wavelength separation, such as about 0.8 nm, allowing for higher channel capacity and longer distances, but typically at a higher cost and complexity.

Interconnections between devices may be implemented using fiber optic cables. Fiber optics are capable of transmitting data streams via different wavelengths of light, with each data stream assigned a unique wavelength. The use of fiber optic cables may allow multiple data streams to be transmitted simultaneously through a single fiber optic cable, significantly increasing the bandwidth and efficiency of the network, and particularly advantageous for long-distance data transmission and for applications requiring high data transfer rates. Various optical networking technologies can be used to transmit multiple optical signals (e.g., data signals or data streams) over a single optical fiber within an optical link with little to no optical signal interference. These technologies may be used to improve bandwidth efficiency and reduce the amount of infrastructure needed for data communication.

For increased throughput and bandwidth, modern fiber-optic communication systems can support tens or even hundredth of channels. Transmitters, receivers, and combined transceiver devices can deploy optical connectors that interface between modulated beams, e.g., carried by various optical fibers and/or waveguides of a photonic integrated circuit (PIC), and an external optical fiber. Outcoupling of each separate beam with a different wavelength is typically performed using a separate coupler (e.g., a mirror, a diffraction grating, and/or a similar optical device). As a result, a large number of couplers has to be positioned on the PIC resulting in a relatively low density of transmitted data per external fiber-facing edge of the PIC (beachfront density). This, in turn, leads to increased size and cost of the transceivers. Designing large-bandwidth optical couplers capable of handling multiple wavelength channels is challenging. Therefore, in fiber-optic communications, achieving data a high density of transmitted data per external fiber-facing edge of the optical chip is desired.

Aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure address these and other challenges of the existing WDM technology and provide for vertically integrated optical connectors having a compact size and being capable of achieving high beachfront density using optical couplers, which may be any suitable optical elements (e.g., diffraction gratings, mirrors, etc.) that redirect light away from a plane of a PIC. In WDM, multiple optical signals having different wavelengths are combined into a single optical signal and transmitted over a single optical fiber. WDM techniques involve combining and separating multiple optical signals with different wavelengths onto a single optical fiber, allowing for more data to be transmitted and increasing the capacity of the optical fiber.

In some embodiments, a disclosed optical connector device includes an optical transceiver, e.g., a PIC, or some other optical chip device, that deploys multiple optical couplers supporting specific wavelengths (color coded channels). Optical couplers may be arranged in a one-dimensional (1D) array in a direction substantially along the optical fiber (to maximize the front signal density). An individual surface-emitting coupler may include any spectral component such as diffraction grating or a prism, one or more collimating or focusing lenses and/or mirrors, and/or other optical elements. A WDM device may be placed on the PIC, e.g., above the array of optical couplers, and may serve as a multiplexer (demultiplexer) by supporting a plurality of optical pathways that iteratively collect and combine individual beams (channels) directed by various optical couplers until all beams are combined into a single combined beam that is then directed to an external optical fiber. In reception, demultiplexing of the received beam may be performed in the opposite direction, starting from the received combined beam that is iteratively split into multiple individual spectral beams. In some embodiments, the WDM device may be permanently attached to the PIC. In some embodiments, the WDM device (or some part thereof) may be detachable from the PIC using mating connector(s).

To implement iterative multiplexing/demultiplexing, the WDM device may include a micro-optics WDM block (e.g., a combination of optical filters, mirrors, microlens, etc. placed on top of the PIC) that may be largely made from a transparent material. The WDM block may have a shape that accommodates multiple types of optical surfaces which may be affected by different types of surface treatment. The WDM block can be molded as part of the connector or assembled into the connector housing. For example, one side (e.g., a top side) of the WDM block may be coated with a highly reflective material to ensure reflection of multiple (e.g., all) spectral components at various points of their optical paths. Another side (e.g., a bottom side) of the WDM block may have multiple optical (e.g., film-based) filters operating as band-pass filters, e.g., transmitting (or reflecting) beams with wavelengths below a certain threshold while reflecting (or transmitting) beams with wavelengths above that threshold. In some embodiments, the number of such optical filters may match the number of optical couplers (which, in turn, may be equal to the number of channels). Yet other side(s) of the WDM block may be treated with an anti-reflective coating to minimize stray reflections. One or more focusing and/or collimating optical elements may interface between the WDM block and an external optical fiber to facilitate smooth and lossless communication of the combined beam produced by the WDM block. The collimating optical elements may include an optical fiber array with either collimating micro-lens (μLens) assembled at the front of the fiber tip or cleaved/special treated fiber tip to collimate the light coming out of the fiber core to support multiple parallel paths. In some embodiments, a two-dimensional (2D) array of optical couplers with a matching WDM block may be used, e.g., where a first portion of the WDM bock iteratively collects beams outcoupled by individual couplers within 1D arrays of couplers and a second portion of the WDM combines beams collected by those individual 1D arrays.

The WDM systems and transceivers of the present disclosure are capable of supporting efficient high-density connectivity while being vertically integrated on narrow-sized optical integrated circuits to maximize lateral density of communicated data. The disclosed WDM systems and transceivers can fully and efficiently utilize the surface area of the transceiver integrated circuits to implement high beachfront density and high bandwidth signal transmission without increasing the transceiver beachfront size in the lateral dimension to the direction of an external optical fiber or fiber array, which may have a pitch of 127 μm, 250 um, and/or the like.

1 FIG. 1 FIG. 100 100 102 140 150 130 130 102 140 150 is a schematic block diagram of an example computer architecturecapable of implementing vertically integrated wavelength-division optical technology, according to at least one embodiment. As depicted in, computer architecturemay include multiple computing devices, e.g., a first computer device, a second computing device, a third computing device, and/or the like, which may be connected via a network. Networkcan be a public network (e.g., the Internet), a private network (e.g., a local area network (LAN), or wide area network (WAN)), a wireless network, a personal area network (PAN), or a combination thereof. Various components of computer devices are illustrated below using first computer deviceas an example, but other computer devices (e.g., second computer device, third computing device, etc.) may include the same or similar components.

102 104 130 104 1 FIG. First computer devicecan support one or more applicationsthat can transmit and/or receive data over networkand/or direct connections (e.g., over any suitable bus or interconnect, not shown in) to/from other computer devices. Applicationsmay include, or be related to, machine control, machine locomotion, machine driving, synthetic data generation, model training, perception, augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, robotics, security and surveillance, simulation and digital twinning, autonomous or semi-autonomous machine applications, deep learning, environment simulation, data center processing, conversational AI, generative AI, light transport simulation (e.g., ray-tracing, path tracing, etc.), collaborative content creation for 3D assets, cloud computing, and/or any other suitable applications.

104 106 106 108 108 108 106 108 Various computational processes of applicationsmay be supported by one or more processors, including any number of graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), parallel processing units (PPUs), data processing units (DPUs), accelerators, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and/or other suitable processing devices. Processor(s)may be communicatively coupled to one or more memory devices. Memory device(s)may include any volatile or non-volatile memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, flip-flop memory, or any other device capable of storing data. RAM may include a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static random-access memory (SRAM), and the like. In some embodiments, memory device(s)may be, or include, an on-chip memory. In some embodiments, processor(s)and memory device(s)may be implemented as a single unit, e.g., as a FPGA unit.

102 110 110 130 102 130 130 130 110 104 130 112 110 112 130 140 150 108 104 106 Transmission and/or reception of data by first computer devicemay be facilitated by a suitable network controller (network adapter, network interface card, etc.)supporting any suitable communication protocol, e.g., WDM protocol, Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) protocol, Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) protocol, Optical Transport Network (OTN) protocol, and/or any other suitable protocol. Network controllermay include any combination of hardware components and software modules that ensures communication of data over networkand/or other suitable communication pathways (e.g., local busses/interconnects) and serves as an intermediary between first computer deviceand the infrastructure of network, including maintaining an inventory of devices connected to network, managing and configuring protocols for communication with network, deploying protocol stacks, and/or the like. Network controllermay maintain a queue of data scheduled for transmission by application(s), encrypt the data, apportion the data into frames and/or packets that can be transmitted over network, add any suitable header information to the packets and schedule the packets for transmission via a transceiver. Similarly, network controllermay receive, from transceiver, packets communicated over networkby other computer devices (e.g., second computer device, third computer device, and/or the like), transform packets into frames of data, decrypt received frames, place data in memory deviceand/or otherwise make the received data available to application(s)and/or processor(s).

112 110 126 130 112 130 126 110 112 Transceivermay include a combination of optical and electronic circuits that use a stream of digital transmitted electronic signals (e.g., bit values 0 and 1) corresponding to packets generated by network controllerand output optical beams that are communicated over an optical communication channel, which may include one or more optical fibers, via network. Similarly, transceivermay receive optical beams from networkthrough the optical communication channel, extract the data encoded in the beams into a stream of digital received electronic signals corresponding to received packets of data that may be processed by network controller. In some embodiments, the same transceivermay support both transmission and reception of data. In some embodiments, separate transmitter and receiver may be used to implement techniques disclosed herein.

112 114 n n n n n n n+1 n n n+1 Transceivermay include one or more light sources, e.g. light-emitting diodes, laser diodes, semiconductor lasers, and/or the like to generate one or more light beams. In some embodiments, light beams may have sufficiently different frequencies (or, equivalently, wavelengths) so that there is no or little spectral overlap between different beams. Such beams are referred to as spectrally separated beams or, simply, spectral beams herein. For example, nth channel may use spectral beam having a range of wavelengths (λ−δλ, λ+δλ), where λis the central wavelength for the channel and δλis the channel's halfwidth. In some embodiments different (adjacent) may be separated in the wavelength space, e.g., such that the distance between the central wavelengths of two channels, e.g., n and n+1, are separated by a value that is greater than the sum of the channels' halfwidths, λ−λ<δλ+δλ, to avoid or reduce cross-channel interference. In the following, a reference to a specific wavelength λ should be also understood as a range of wavelengths around this wavelength λ.

112 118 112 116 112 120 120 122 126 112 126 122 120 124 112 110 110 2 5 FIGS.- 1 FIG. Transceivermay include one or more optical modulatorsto impart data-carrying modulation to the spectral beams, including but not limited to electro-absorption modulators, Mach-Zehnder interferometers, acousto-optic modulators, electro-optic modulators, and/or any other suitable modulators. Transceivermay further include one or more optical amplifiersthat enhance intensity of the (modulated or unmodulated) beams, including but not limited to erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA), or other similar optical amplifiers. Transceivermay further include a vertically integrated WDM deviceto maximize beachfront density of communicated data, as disclosed in more detail in conjunction withbelow. Vertically integrated WDM devicemay iteratively combine various spectral beams and provide the combined beam to a fiber-optic interfacethat directs the light to the optical communication channel. When operating in a reception mode, transceivermay receive a combination of multiple spectral beams from the optical communication channelthrough fiber-optic interface. The vertically integrated WDM deviceoperating in reverse may demultiplex the received beam into a plurality of modulated spectral beams. One or more photodetectorsmay then extract data-carrying modulation of the individual spectral beams. Transceivermay also use additional components (not shown in), e.g., analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), Fourier analyzers, digital filters, and/or the like, to generate digital data that can be provided to network controllerfor further processing according to one or more communication protocols supported by network controller.

2 2 FIGS.A-B 2 FIG.A 2 FIG.B 2 FIG.A 2 FIG.B 200 200 200 200 are block diagrams illustrating schematically architecture and operations of an optical transceiverwith a vertically integrated wavelength-division device, according to at least one embodiment.illustrates operations of the optical transceiverin the transmission mode;illustrates operations of the optical transceiverin the reception mode. It should be understood that optical transceivermay support simultaneous transmission, reception, and processing of optical signals as illustrated by the combination ofandand that the separate figures are merely intended for the convenience of illustration.

2 FIG.A 2 FIG.A 200 201 204 20 20 200 n n As illustrated in, optical transceivermay include multiple light sources-, each producing one or more beams of light. Although, for brevity and conciseness, only four light sourcesare shown, any other number of light sourcesmay be deployed by optical transceiver, including tens or more of light sources. “Beams” should be understood herein as referring to any signals of electromagnetic radiation, such as continuous beams, wave packets, pulses, sequences of pulses, or other types of optical electromagnetic signals. Solid and open arrows in(and other figures) indicate propagation of optical signals whereas dashed arrows depict propagation of electrical (e.g., analog) signals or electronic (e.g., digital) signals.

20 20 204 210 20 210 210 205 206 207 208 210 205 208 20 210 200 201 204 200 n n n n 2 FIG.A 2 FIG.A Light sourcesmay include lasers, e.g., semiconductor lasers, gas lasers, laser diodes, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and/or the like or any combination thereof. Light sourcesmay operate as continuous-wave light sources, single-pulse light sources, repetitively pulsed light sources, mode-locked light sources, and/or the like. Beams produced by light sourcesmay be delivered, e.g., via optical fibers or free space, to a photonic integrated circuit PICfor further processing. In some embodiments, beams produced by light sourcesmay be received by PICvia one or more directional switches, edge couplers, etc., that direct the incoming light within the plane of PIC, e.g., into a network of optical interconnects,,,, etc. that facilitate propagation of light within PIC. Optical interconnects-may include single-node or multi-node waveguides, including semiconductor (silicon, etc.) waveguides, optical fibers, and/or other devices capable of guiding light beams. Although not explicitly illustrated in, any, some, or all light sourcesmay be integrated into PIC. Although illustrated as part of optical transceiverin, in some embodiments, any, some, or all light sources-may be located outside optical transceiver, e.g., as an attachable/detachable unit.

210 210 210 210 2 FIG.A PICmay be any type of photonic integrated circuit. For example, PICmay be an electro-optic modulator, a photodiode, a transmitter optical sub assembly and/or a receiver optical sub assembly. In some embodiments, PICmay include graphene. In some embodiments, there may be more than one PIC supported by a common substrate. In some embodiments, the substrate may also support one or more electronic integrated circuits. In some embodiments, PICmay support a plurality of cable connectors (not shown in). In some embodiments, cable connectors may be flexible. This may help ensure that the cable connectors may be used with a variety of substrates, electronic integrated circuits, and photonic integrated circuits. For example, the substrate, electronic integrated circuit(s), and/or photonic integrated circuit(s) may be from different manufactures, may be a different type of integrated circuit or substrate, and/or may have different capabilities. For example, the substrate, the electronic integrated circuit(s), and the photonic integrated circuit(s) may have different heights Flexible of cable connectors may be able to bend as needed, such that various components with different heights may be accommodated and connections may be made without any additional modifications. Additionally, flexible cable connectors may be used with a variety of substrates, electronic integrated circuits, and photonic integrated circuits that have interconnect connectors with different pitches.

210 20 211 214 211 214 210 211 214 201 204 21 n n. PICmay facilitate formation of optical beams with specific amplitude, phase, spectral, and polarization characteristics and encoding digital signals into the beams, e.g., using a number of passive and/or active optical elements. In some embodiments, beams of light generated by light sourcesmay undergo a suitable preprocessing using respective beam preparation stages-that modify various properties of the beams, including but not limited to spectrally filtering the beams, e.g., reducing beam linewidths, imparting polarization (e.g., circular or linear) to the beams, amplifying the beams, and/or modifying the beams in any other suitable way. In some embodiments, any, some, or all operations of beam preparation stages-may be performed prior to receiving the beams by PIC. Beam preparation stages-may include filters, resonators, polarizers, feedback loops, lenses, mirrors, diffraction optical elements, optical amplifiers, lock-in amplifiers, and/or other optical devices. In some embodiments, one or more of light sources-may be a broadband light source with a beam generated by such a light source subsequently filtered using a narrowband filter of a respective beam preparation stage

221 224 Optical modulators-may modulate the beams to encode any digital or analog data into the beams. Optical modulation may include any form of phase modulation (including imparting any temporal sequence of phase shifts imparted to the beams), frequency modulation (including imparting any temporal sequence of frequency changes), and/or amplitude modulation (including imparting any temporal variation of the amplitude of the beams), and/or any combination thereof.

221 224 221 224 221 224 In some embodiments, optical modulators-may include an acousto-optic modulator (AOM), an electro-optic modulator (EOM), a Lithium Niobate modulator, a heat-driven modulator, a Mach-Zehnder modulator, and the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, optical modulators-may include a quadrature amplitude modulator (QAM) or an in-phase/quadrature modulator (IQM). In one example, optical modulators-may operate via electrical or mechanical control exercised over the refractive index of an optical medium of the optical modulators.

260 260 221 224 260 260 221 224 252 250 240 200 In some embodiments, optical modulation of the beams may be imparted using an electrical modulator, which may be (or include) a radio frequency (RF) modulator, a terahertz (THz) modulator, a microwave modulator, and/or a modulator operating in any other suitable range of frequencies. Electrical modulatormay generate and apply electrical signals to optical modulators-to implement optical encoding. In some embodiments, electrical modulatormay include one or more local oscillators, mixers, amplifiers, and/or filters of electrical signals, and/or the like. Electrical modulatormay impart optical modulation individually to each optical modulator-in accordance with any suitable electrical signal encodinggenerated using a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)that converts a digital signal generated by a processorfor transmission via optical transceiver.

241 244 220 270 270 241 244 231 234 241 244 231 234 3 FIG.A 2 FIG.B Spectral beams-modulated using optical modulatormay be delivered to a wavelength-division multiplexing/demultiplexing (WDM) blockdescribed in more detail in conjunction withbelow. In some embodiments, prior to being delivered to WDM block, spectral beams-may pass through respective directional couplers-that separate transmitted beams (e.g., spectral beams-) from received beams (e.g., as illustrated withbelow). Directional couplers-may include beam splitters, grating couplers, optical circulators, e.g., Faraday effect-based circulators, birefringent crystal-based circulators, and/or the like.

270 241 244 2 FIG.A Prior to being delivered to WDM block, spectral beams-may be processed by a suitable set of optical amplifiers (not shown in), which may include Erbium-doped amplifiers, waveguide-integrated amplifiers, saturation amplifiers, and/or the like, of some combination thereof.

330 271 274 241 244 210 270 270 271 274 210 270 241 244 280 279 350 2 FIG.A 3 FIG.A WDM devicemay further include optical couplers-that direct, e.g., via reflection, scattering, diffraction, etc., spectral beams-away from the plane of the PICand towards WDM block. (illustrates the top view of WDM blockpositioned above optical couplers-of PIC.) As illustrated below in conjunction with, WDM blockmay include multiple optical elements that iteratively combine redirected spectral beams-into a combined beamthat is then directed, e.g., via an optical fiber interface(e.g., lens, microlens, rounded optical fiber tip, etc.), to an optical fiberto be communicated to an external computing device or network.

2 FIG.B 3 FIG.A 200 290 270 290 270 290 291 294 271 274 210 As illustrated in, when operated in the reception mode, optical transceivermay receive a combined beamthat includes multiple spectral components (beams), each beam carrying its own digital signal encoded in the modulation of the respective beam. In some embodiments, WDM blockmay include optical elements whose functions are time-reversible, such that when output beam(s) are reversed (e.g., when transmission beam becomes a received beam), the light retraces its path in the reverse direction. More specifically, received combined beammay be processed by various optical elements of WDM block(as disclosed in conjunction with) to iteratively demultiplex the received combined beaminto individual spectral beams-, each individual beam directed by a corresponding optical coupler-into the plane of the PICand associated with a specific wavelength or a range of wavelengths of a particular channel carrying a modulated signal, e.g., as may be prepared and encoded by any suitable sending device.

291 294 231 234 200 201 204 211 214 221 224 281 284 350 290 231 234 Received spectral beams-may be processed by respective directional couplers-that direct the beams away from the transmission components of optical transceiver(e.g., away from light sources-, beam preparation stages-, optical modulators-, and/or other components) and towards a set of photodetectors-. In some embodiments, instead of using the same optical fiberfor communication and transmission of optical beams, received beammay be received via a dedicate reception optical fiber. In such embodiments, directional couplers-may not be used since transmitted and received optical beams follow separate paths.

291 294 281 284 291 294 281 282 283 284 Photodetectors-may extract optical modulation of the received beams and generate analog electrical signals representative of the extracted modulation. Individual photodetectors-may operate in its specific wavelength domain corresponding to the respective received spectral beams-. For example, photodetectormay operate in the range of green light, photodetectormay operate in the range of red light, photodetectormay operate in a range of yellow light, photodetectormay operate in a range of blue light, and/or the like.

28 281 201 204 210 281 282 284 291 n 2 FIG.A In some embodiments, an individual photodetectormay be arranged into a 180-degree optical hybrid stage, a 90-degree optical hybrid stage, and/or the like that also receives, as additional reference inputs, unmodulated beams of the corresponding wavelength range. For example, photodetectormay receive an unmodulated reference green light. In some embodiments, the unmodulated reference light may be a local oscillator (LO) copy of the corresponding light (of the same wavelength range) generated by one of light sources-(with reference to) whose reference copy is maintained on PICfor use in photodetection. Photodetector(and/or any other photodetectors-) may generate an electrical signal representative of a difference between received spectral beamand the reference beam.

In some embodiments, an individual photodetector may include photodiodes connected in series (balanced photodetection setup) that generate electrical signals proportional to a difference of intensities of the input optical modes. A balanced photodetector may include a pair of photodiodes that are Si-based, InGaAs-based, Ge-based, Si-on-Ge-based, and/or the like.

292 240 291 294 The generated electrical signals may be analog signals, in some embodiments. An Analog-to-Digital converter (ADC)may digitize the electrical signal and provide the digitized signal for further processing by processorinto a sequence of bits encoded in the modulation of the received beam (e.g., any of the received spectral beams-).

240 281 284 2 FIG.B In some embodiments, processormay include a dedicated digital signal processing (DSP) circuitry for processing electrical signals generated by photodetectors-(e.g., accelerator circuitry). The DSP (not shown in) may include spectral analyzers, such as Fast Fourier Transform (FTT) analyzers, and other circuits configured to process digital signals, including central processing units (CPUs), graphic processing units (GPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and one or more memory devices. In some embodiments, the processing and memory circuits can be implemented as part of a DSP microcontroller.

270 350 201 204 270 20 221 224 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 In some embodiments, an optical transceiver may include multiple WDM blocks, each individual block supporting multiple wavelength transmission and reflection channels through several optical fibers. In one example, embodiment, an optical transceiver may support 8×4=32 communication channels, e.g., with eight WDM blocks, each supporting 4 wavelength channels λ, λ, λ, λ. In such embodiments, four light sources (e.g., light sources-) may generate four initial beams, each beam subsequently split into eight separate beams independently modulated with different signals. Each of eight WDM blocksupports transmission and reception of four wavelength channels λ, λ, λ, λ. An optical transceiver supporting this 32-channel transmission/reception may deployoptical fibers (or waveguides), e.g., with four fibers delivering light from the light sources, eight fibers delivering transmitted beams from optical modulators (e.g., optical modulators-) to corresponding WDM blocks, and eight fibers delivering received beams from the WDM blocks to corresponding photodetectors.

3 FIG.A 2 2 FIGS.A-B 3 FIG.A 2 2 FIGS.A-B 3 FIG.A 2 FIG.B 330 270 330 is a block diagram illustrating schematically a side view of a wavelength-division multiplexer/demultiplexer (WDM) devicevertically integrated with an optical transceiver of, according to at least one embodiment. In some embodiments, WDM device illustrated inmay include WDM blockof. Even thoughillustrates operations of the WDM device in the transmission mode, operations of the WDM devicein the reception mode may be performed in a substantially the same way, with directions of various beams reversed (see, e.g.,).

3 FIG.A 330 210 210 302 304 302 210 304 210 304 As illustrated in, WDM devicemay be mounted on PIC. PICmay include one or more layers, e.g., a chip or substrateand a cladding(not to scale). Substratemay be or include a silicon layer, a germanium layer, a corundum layer, a glass layer, and/or any other suitable layer capable of supporting various elements and components of PIC. Claddingmay protect optical elements (e.g., optical interconnects, modulators, waveguides, photodetectors, and/or any other elements) of PICfrom various external and environmental factors, conditions, and impacts. In some embodiments, claddingmay include a transparent layer, e.g., a glass layer, a silicon oxide layer, and/or a layer of any other suitable transparent material.

302 241 244 210 221 224 271 274 271 274 241 244 210 271 274 271 274 311 314 271 274 321 324 311 314 311 314 330 311 314 280 2 FIG.A 2 FIG.A 2 FIG.B Substratemay host a fabric of optical interconnects (e.g., waveguides, optical fibers, etc.) that deliver modulated spectral beams-from various elements of PIC, e.g., optical modulators-(with reference to), to optical couplers-. As disclosed in conjunction withand, optical couplers-may be surface-emitting couplers that direct at least a portion of the energy of spectral beams-away from the plane of the PIC. Optical couplers-may include diffractive optical elements, prisms, reflectors, scatterers, and/or the like. The redirected, by optical couplers-, spectral beams-may have a certain angular spread caused by dispersion of light upon interaction with optical couplers-that can cause loss of energy of the spectral beams, which can be the more significant the longer an optical path of a corresponding spectral bema is. To prevent such losses, the angular dispersion may be compensated by an array of lenses-that collimate and/or partially focus spectral beams-. Collimated spectral beams-may enter WDM devicethat serves as a multiplexer iteratively combining spectral beams-into combined beam(or a demultiplexer separating received combined beam into spectral components).

321 324 311 314 270 321 324 210 3 FIG.A In some embodiments, array of lenses-that collimates spectral beams-may be integrated as part of WDM block. In some embodiments, array of lenses-may be implemented as part of PIC(e.g., as illustrated in).

270 270 331 331 270 332 333 334 332 311 312 332 331 333 313 333 331 334 314 334 R Y R Y R Y G R Y G R Y G B R Y G B 3 FIG.A In one example embodiment, a WDM block, which may be made from a transparent material, e.g., glass, may support multiple optical elements. For example, a top side of the WDM blockmay be coated with a highly reflective material to form a first reflecting surface, also referred as to as a first reflecting region herein. First reflecting surfacemay reflect various spectral components of the beams. A bottom surface of the WDM blockmay include multiple optical filters,,, etc., which may be operating as band-pass filters performing selective transmission and reflection of light, e.g., transmitting (or reflecting) signals with wavelengths below a certain threshold while reflecting (or transmitting) signals with wavelengths above that threshold. For example, optical filtermay reflect red light corresponding to the wavelengths λof spectral beambut transmit yellow light corresponding to the wavelengths λof spectral beam. As a result, light propagating from optical filterto the first reflecting surfacemay include the combination λ+λof the red light and the yellow light. Similarly, optical filtermay reflect both the red light λand yellow light λbut transmit green light corresponding to the wavelengths λof spectral beam. As a result, light propagating from optical filterto the first reflecting surfacemay include the combination λ+λ+λof the red light, yellow light, and green light. Optical filtermay reflect red light λ, yellow light λ, and green light λbut transmit blue light corresponding to the wavelengths λof beam. The light propagating away from optical filtermay, therefore, include the combination λ+λ+λ+λof red light, yellow light, green light, and blue light. Although, for brevity and conciseness, four beams and four optical filters are illustrated in, any number of optical filters may be used to combine the corresponding number of spectral beams.

280 311 314 335 280 350 340 341 350 350 341 280 350 3 FIG.A Combined beamthat includes iteratively collected spectral beams-may be reflected by a second reflecting surface(also referred as to as a second reflecting region herein) that directs the combined beamtowards an interface with an external optical fiber. In some embodiments, the optical fiber interface may include one or more optical elements, e.g., a focusing lens(as shown), a focusing (e.g. parabolic) mirror, and/or other suitable optical elements. In some embodiments, e.g., as illustrated with the callout portion of, a curved (rounded) tipof optical fibermay be used in lieu of a focusing lens to direct/light into optical fiber. The curved surface of tipmay focus/guide various spectral components of the combined beaminto optical fiber.

270 311 314 331 280 335 350 350 270 360 As a result, WDM blockuses multiple reflections of spectral beams-from the first reflecting surfaceto form a single combined beamand then uses the second reflecting surfaceto reflect the light one more time and couple (direct) the light into optical fiber. Horizontal positioning of optical fiberminimizes the height of WDM blockand housing.

311 314 270 311 314 210 331 210 311 314 311 314 332 334 331 331 210 311 314 311 314 210 311 314 In various embodiments, spectral beams-and WDM blockmay have a variety of relative orientations. In some embodiments, spectral beams-may make an angle of departure a with the normal direction to the PICthat is less than 10 degrees, α<10°, and first reflecting surface (region)makes an angle β that is more than 5 degrees with the plane of the PIC, β>5°. In one example, spectral beams-may be directed vertically up (α=0°) and the redirection of spectral beams-towards optical filters-may be achieved by the angled first reflecting surface. In some embodiments, α>5°, and β<5°. In one example, first reflecting surfacemay be parallel to the plane of the PIC(β=0°) while the redirection of spectral beams-may be achieved by a suitable selection of the angle of departure a of spectral beams-from the plane of the PIC. In some embodiments, a combination of both techniques may be used, by tuning both the angle of departure and the angle of the first reflecting surface, e.g., α>5°, β>5°. In some embodiments, angle α can be more than 5° but less than 20°, 5°<α<20°, such that the angle that spectral beams-make with the plane of the optical chip, 90°−α, may exceed 70 degrees.

270 360 270 210 360 362 210 270 210 362 360 362 360 3 FIG.A In some embodiments, WDM blockmay be enclosed in a housingthat affixes WDM blockto PIC. In some embodiments, housingmay include one or more mechanical couplers, e.g., pins, brackets, joints, detents, etc., that engage one or more matching couplers (not shown in) on PICto removably affix WDM blockto PIC. In some embodiments, mechanical coupler(s)may be integrated into housing. In some embodiments, mechanical coupler(s)may also be removably coupled to housing.

3 FIG.A 271 274 280 210 270 illustrates a single linear array of optical couplers-arranged in a linear array positioned along the direction of the combined beam. In some embodiments, PICmay support multiple linear arrays of optical couplers with WDM blockincluding multiple matching arrays of optical filters, mirrors, and/or other optical elements, e.g., lenses, and/or the like.

3 FIG.A 3 FIG.A 2 FIG.A 3 FIG.A 2 FIG.A 3 FIG.A 330 332 333 334 311 312 313 314 332 311 312 333 311 312 313 331 335 340 280 362 210 210 221 222 223 224 205 206 207 208 271 272 273 274 241 242 243 244 205 241 271 270 340 280 350 332 333 334 331 335 321 322 323 324 As disclosed in conjunction with, in some embodiments, a wavelength-division multiplexing device (e.g., WDM device) may include a plurality of optical elements (e.g., optical filters,,, and/or the like) arranged in one or more linear arrays and configured to receive a plurality of spectral beams (e.g., spectral beams,,,). An individual optical element of the plurality of optical elements may be configured to reflect one or more spectral beams of the plurality of spectral beams and transmit one or more other spectral beams of the plurality of spectral beams. For example, optical filtermay reflect spectral beambut reflect spectral beam, optical filtermay reflect spectral beamandbut reflect spectral beamand so on. The wavelength-division multiplexing device may further include a first reflecting surface (e.g., first reflecting surface) configured to reflect the plurality of spectral beams towards the plurality of optical elements. The wavelength-division multiplexing device may further include a second reflecting surface (e.g., second reflecting surface) configured to reflect an output beam towards an output optical interface (e.g., lens), the output beam (e.g., combined beam) formed by iterative reflections of the plurality of spectral beams from the first reflecting surface and at least some of the plurality of optical elements, and wherein the output optical interface is configured to optically couple to an external optical fiber (as illustrated in). The wavelength-division multiplexing device may also include one or more mechanical couplers (e.g., mechanical couplers) configured to affix the wavelength-division multiplexing device to an optical chip device (e.g., PIC). As disclosed in conjunction withand, in some embodiments, an optical transceiver may include a photonic integrated circuit (e.g., PICin). The photonic integrated circuit may include one or more optical modulators (e.g., optical modulators,,,) to encode a transmitted electronic signal in a plurality of spectral beams (e.g., spectral beams,,,). The photonic integrated circuit may further include a plurality of optical couplers (e.g., optical couplers,,,). An individual optical coupler of the plurality of optical couplers may be configured to direct a respective spectral beam away from a plane of the photonic integrated circuit. The photonic integrated circuit may also include a plurality of optical interconnects (e.g., optical interconnects,,,). An individual optical interconnect of the plurality of optical interconnects may be configured to deliver the respective spectral beam of the plurality of spectral beams to the individual optical coupler. For example, optical interconnectmay deliver spectral beamto optical coupler. The photonic integrated circuit may further include a wavelength-division multiplexing block (e.g., WDM block) that includes a plurality of optical elements configured to iteratively combine the plurality of spectral beams into a combined beam and an optical fiber interface (e.g., lens) configured to direct the combined beam (e.g., combined beam) to an external optical fiber (e.g., external optical fiber). In some embodiments, the plurality of optical elements of the WDM block may include (e.g., as illustrated in), optical filters,,, first reflecting surface, second reflecting surface, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the plurality of optical elements of the WDM block may include one or more lenses,,,.

330 330 321 322 323 324 270 311 312 313 314 280 3 FIG.A The WDM devicedisclosed in conjunction withfacilitates increasing the transmitted/received beachfront density by the number of WDM channels. For example, a typical optical transceiver with 127 um pitch 1D FAU (either surface-coupled or edge-coupled) and supporting a 200 Gb per fiber bandwidth can theoretically achieve approximately 0.8 Tb/mm beachfront density in theory. In contrast, the disclosed WDM devicedeploying four optical couplers,,,and WDM blockto vertically direct and combine four spectral beams,,,into a single combined beammay improve the beachfront density four-fold to about 3.2 Tb/mm. In some embodiments, the beachfront density may be less than 3.2 Tb/mm, e.g., between 2.0 Tb/mm and 2.4 Tb/mm, between 2.4 Tb/mm and 2.8 Tb/mm, between 2.8 Tb/mm and 3.2 Tb/mm. Further improvement of the beachfront density above 3.2 Tb/mm may be achieved with additional optical couplers.

3 FIG.B 370 370 331 331 331 331 331 331 331 332 333 334 370 350 331 331 331 331 is a block diagram illustrating schematically another vertically integrated WDM device, according to at least one embodiment. WDM devicehas a first reflecting surfacewith a set of curved (dome-shaped) portions-A,-B,-C, etc., which may be used for additional collimation (or re-focusing) of spectral beams. In some embodiments, curved portions-A,-B,-C may be deployed to reduce the spacing between optical filters,,to make the WDM devicemore compact in the longitudinal direction (along external optical fiber). In some embodiments, rather than having multiple curved portions-A,-B,-C, the first reflecting surfacemay be curved.

3 FIG.C 3 FIG.C 270 270 311 312 313 314 210 270 311 312 313 314 280 350 is a block diagram illustrating schematically a vertically integrated WDM block, according to at least one embodiment. WDM blockis configured to receive multiple spectral beams,,,directed away from a plane of a photonic integrated circuitat an angle 70 degrees or more to the plane. WDM blockofis further configured to combine the multiple spectral beams,,,into a combined beamand output the combined beam to an external optical fiber.

4 FIG. 2 FIG.A 3 FIG.A 4 FIG. 4 FIG. 400 400 401 402 403 40 411 412 413 400 421 411 422 411 412 411 412 421 423 411 412 413 430 340 350 350 n 1 4 5 8 1 8 9 12 is a block diagram illustrating schematically the top view of a vertically integrated WDM devicehaving multiple linear arrays of optical elements collecting spectral beams from a photonic integrated circuit, according to at least one embodiment. As illustrated, WDM devicecollects spectral beams from three linear arrays,, andof optical couplers. Spectral beams collected from each linear arraymay be combined into corresponding intermediate beams,, and, e.g., substantially as disclosed in conjunction withand. WDM blockmay further include a reflecting surface (e.g., mirror)that reflects a first intermediate beamtowards optical filterthat reflects spectral components λ, . . . λof first intermediate beamwhile transmitting spectral components λ. . . λof second intermediate beam. The combination+is redirected by reflecting surfacetowards optical filterthat similarly reflects spectral components λ. . . λof the combination+while transmitting spectral components λ. . . λof a third intermediate beam. This forms a final combined beamthat may be focused by lenstowards an interface with an external optical fiber. Although three arrays of four optical couplers each are shown in, the number of optical couplers need not be limited, e.g., with M arrays of N optical couplers and the corresponding number of optical filters, collimating lenses, and/or other optical elements that may first collect N spectral beams within each individual array into M intermediate beams and subsequently combine these intermediate beams into a final combined beam, which is directed to external optical fiber. In some embodiments, M may be larger than N, e.g., as shown in. In some embodiments, M may be substantially larger than N, e.g., by the aspect ratio 1.5, 2, 3, 4, or some other number. In one example, M may be at least 4 and N may be at least 10 (e.g., 10, 20, etc.).

5 FIG. 500 500 210 210 501 502 503 504 50 501 504 51 511 512 513 514 210 271 272 273 274 27 51 210 500 570 311 312 313 314 280 500 340 280 350 500 n n n n is a block diagram illustrating schematically an optical connector devicecapable of vertically integrated wavelength-division multiplexing/demultiplexing, according to at least one embodiment. As illustrated, the optical connector deviceincludes a photonic integrated circuit. The photonic integrated circuitincludes a plurality of optical interconnects,,,. An individual optical interconnectof the plurality of optical interconnects-is configured to support propagation of a respective spectral beamof a plurality of spectral beams,,,. The photonic integrated circuitfurther includes a plurality of optical couplers,,,. An individual optical couplerof the plurality of optical couplers is configured to direct the respective spectral beamaway from a plane of the photonic integrated circuit. The optical connector devicefurther includes a spectral multiplexerincluding a plurality of optical elements configured to iteratively combine the plurality of spectral beams,,,into a combined beam. The optical devicefurther includes an optical fiber interfaceconfigured to direct the combined beamto an optical fiberexternal to the optical connector device.

6 FIG. 2 4 FIGS.- 2 FIG.A 600 600 610 600 201 203 is a flow diagram of an example methodof using an optical transceiver with a vertically integrated wavelength-division optical device for fiber-optic communications, according to at least one embodiment. In some embodiments, operations of methodmay be performed using systems disclosed in conjunction with. At block, methodmay include generating, using a plurality of light sources (e.g., light sources-, with reference to), a plurality of spectral beams. An individual spectral beam of the plurality of spectral beams may be generated by a respective light source of the plurality of light sources.

620 600 271 274 2 FIG.A 3 4 FIGS.- At block, methodmay continue with delivering, via a plurality of optical interconnects positioned within a plane of a photonic integrated circuit, the plurality of spectral beams to a plurality of optical couplers (e.g., optical couplers-, with reference to,).

630 600 27 31 3 FIG.A n n At block, methodmay continue with directing, using the plurality of optical couplers, the plurality of spectral beams away from the plane of the photonic integrated circuit (e.g., as illustrated in). An individual optical coupler (e.g., optical coupler) of the plurality of optical couplers may be directing a respective spectral beam (e.g., spectral beam) of the plurality of spectral beams.

640 321 324 3 FIG.A At block, may include re-shaping, using one or more lenses (e.g., lenses-, with reference to) the plurality of spectral beams directed away from the plane of the photonic integrated circuit.

650 600 270 280 3 FIG.A At block, methodmay continue with iteratively combining, using a spectral multiplexer (e.g., WDM block), the plurality of spectral beams into a combined beam (e.g., combined beam, with reference to).

660 600 340 350 At block, methodmay include directing, using an optical fiber interface (e.g., lens), the combined beam to an external optical fiber (e.g., optical fiber).

7 7 FIGS.A-B 700 702 704 706 700 700 702 As described above, datacenters, high performance computing clusters, and/or the like are often formed of various computing components or networked devices, and communication networks formed of electrical and/or optical devices may be used to enable communication between the networked devices forming these implementations. With reference to, for example, a network architecturemay include a datacenter, a communication network, and network device(s). The network architecturemay illustrate a general computing architecture within which more specific systems and/or subsystems may function. Although described hereinafter with reference to a network architectureand/or datacenterwithin which the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented, the present disclosure contemplates that the vertically integrated optical transceivers and techniques described herein may be applicable to any communication implementation without limitation.

702 702 702 702 7 FIG.B For example, the datacentermay be a centralized facility designed to house computing resources and related components. The datacentermay operate to support the infrastructure required for advanced computational tasks, for efficient, secure, and reliable operations. The datacentermay include the building and structural components, including power supplies, cooling systems, fire suppression systems, and physical security measures that are configured to maintain optimal operating conditions and/or protect the equipment from environmental hazards and unauthorized access. An example datacentermay include high-performance servers or compute nodes, often arranged in racks, such as those illustrated in, and connected through high-speed networks as described herein. These servers may include processors (e.g., central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), data processing units (DPUs) and/or the like), memory (e.g., RAM), and storage solutions (e.g., hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), and/or the like. The hardware configuration may be designed for parallel processing and high throughput, catering to the demands of high-performance computing (HPC) applications.

702 702 702 702 The datacentermay include high-speed network equipment, such as network switches, routers, firewalls, and/or the like to facilitate fast and secure data transmission within the datacenter(e.g., between the servers or compute nodes) and between external networks. The datacentermay facilitate communication between servers or compute nodes through a network topology that ensures efficient data exchange, minimizes latency, and maximizes bandwidth. The network topology may dictate how various network devices, such as switches and routers, are interconnected for data flow. By implementing an effective network topology, the datacentermay support high-performance computing tasks. Examples of various network topologies may include hierarchical networking topologies such as the fat tree topology, Slim Fly topology, Dragonfly topology, and/or the like.

704 702 706 704 704 702 704 700 704 The communication networkmay communicably couple the datacenterwith network device(s)and other external devices for data exchange and connectivity. Examples of the communication networkmay include an Internet Protocol (IP) network, an Ethernet network, an InfiniBand (IB) network, a Fibre Channel network, the Internet, a cellular communication network, a wireless communication network, combinations thereof (e.g., Fibre Channel over Ethernet), variants thereof, and/or the like. The ability of the communication networkto incorporate multiple network types and configurations may allow the datacenterto adapt to diverse application needs, from general data communication to specialized HPC tasks. As described herein, the communication networkmay leverage various optical components to establish communication links (e.g., communicably couple) between components in the architecture. As such, the communication networkmay include various optical devices, transceivers, modules, and/or the like that are configured to generate optical signals (e.g., provide optical transmitter functionality) and/or receive optical signals (e.g., provide optical receiver functionality).

706 704 706 706 702 706 702 700 The network device(s)may include a variety of computing devices capable of transmitting and receiving signals over the communication network. The network device(s)may range from personal computing devices to complex server configurations. Examples include Personal Computers (PCs), laptops, tablets, smartphones, and servers. The network device(s)may facilitate user interactions with the datacenter, allowing for data input, retrieval, and processing from remote locations. In addition to individual computing devices, the network device(s)may also include collections of servers or additional datacenters. For instance, these could be other datacenters similar to or the same as datacenter. Such an interconnection may allow for the formation of a distributed computing environment for improved redundancy, load balancing, and disaster recovery capabilities. By linking multiple datacenters, the network architecturemay leverage geographically dispersed resources, optimizing performance and ensuring high availability.

702 706 704 As described herein, the datacenterand/or the network device(s)may include storage devices and processing circuitry for executing computing tasks, such as controlling the flow of data internally and over the communication network. The processing circuitry may include software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, the processing circuitry may include a memory containing executable instructions and a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) that executes these instructions. The memory may correspond to any suitable type of memory device or collection of memory devices configured to store instructions. Non-limiting examples of suitable memory devices include Flash memory, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), variants thereof, combinations thereof, or similar technologies. In specific embodiments, the memory and processor may be integrated into a common device, such as a microprocessor with integrated memory. Additionally, or alternatively, the processing circuitry may comprise hardware components, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Other non-limiting examples of processing circuitry include Integrated Circuit (IC) chips, CPUs, GPUs, microprocessors, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), collections of logic gates or transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and diodes. Some or all of the processing circuitry may be provided on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) or a collection of PCBs. It should be appreciated that any appropriate type of electrical component or collection of electrical components may be suitable for inclusion in the processing circuitry.

702 706 700 700 In addition, although not explicitly shown, the present disclosure contemplates that the datacenterand network device(s)may include one or more communication interfaces for facilitating wired and/or wireless communication between one another and other unillustrated elements of the network architecture. These communication interfaces may include a variety of technologies, including but not limited to Ethernet ports, fiber optic connections, Wi-Fi® transceivers, Bluetooth® modules, and cellular communication modules for integration and interoperability among the various components within the network architecture.

700 700 700 Furthermore, the present disclosure contemplates that the network architecturemay include additional components and functionalities. For example, the network architecture may include, without limitation, additional processing units, specialized accelerators (such as Tensor Processing Units or TPUs), enhanced security modules, and redundant power supplies. The inclusion of these elements may be intended to ensure that the network architectureis robust, scalable, and capable of meeting diverse operational requirements. Any variations, modifications, or adaptations of the described elements that fall within the spirit and scope of the disclosure are considered to be encompassed by the present disclosure. This includes any combinations, sub-combinations, or enhancements of the various described elements to achieve improved performance, reliability, and efficiency in the network architecture.

7 7 FIGS.A-B 704 700 In high-capacity datacenter networks, such as those illustrated in, the communication networkmay leverage optical transceivers that transmit and receive optical signals over optical fibers or other optical communication mediums in order to establish connection between devices in the architecture.

702 702 702 702 704 702 706 In at least one example embodiment, the datacentercorresponds to a collection of network devices, such as network switches (e.g., Ethernet switches) connected with a collection of servers or compute nodes. The datacentermay adhere to a networking topology (e.g., a hierarchal networking topology), such as a fat tree topology, a Slim Fly topology, a Dragonfly topology, and/or the like. The datacenterroutes traffic amongst the network switches and servers therein, and at least one layer of the topology in the datacenteris coupled to the communication networkto allow networking traffic to flow between the datacenterand the network device(s).

704 702 706 704 The communication networkmay communicably couple the datacenterwith network device(s)and other external devices for data exchange and connectivity. Examples of the communication networkmay include an Internet Protocol (IP) network, an Ethernet network, an InfiniBand (IB) network, a Fibre Channel network, the Internet, a cellular communication network, a wireless communication network, combinations thereof (e.g., Fibre Channel over Ethernet), variants thereof, and/or the like.

702 706 Each type of network offers specific advantages tailored to different operational requirements. For instance, an IP network or Ethernet network may provide widespread compatibility and ease of integration, supporting various protocols and applications across the datacenterand the network device(s)(and/or external devices). An InfiniBand network may offer high throughput and low latency, ideal for HPC environments where rapid data transfer and minimal delay are required. Fibre Channel networks may be employed for their robust performance in storage area networks (SANs), ensuring fast and reliable access to storage resources. Cellular and wireless communication networks may be used to extend connectivity to remote or mobile devices for increased flexibility and accessibility.

704 702 704 702 706 The ability of the communication networkto incorporate multiple network types and configurations allows the datacenterto adapt to diverse application needs, from general data communication to specialized HPC tasks. Examples of the communication networkthat may be used to connect the datacenterand the network device(s)include an Internet Protocol (IP) network, an Ethernet network, an InfiniBand (TB) network, a Fibre Channel network, the Internet, a cellular communication network, a wireless communication network, combinations thereof (e.g., Fibre Channel over Ethernet), variants thereof, and/or the like.

706 704 706 706 702 706 702 700 The network device(s)may include a variety of computing devices capable of sending and receiving signals over the communication network. The network device(s)can range from personal computing devices to complex server configurations. Examples include Personal Computers (PCs), laptops, tablets, smartphones, and servers. The network device(s)may facilitate user interactions with the datacenter, allowing for data input, retrieval, and processing from remote locations. In addition to individual computing devices, the network device(s)may also include collections of servers or additional datacenters. For instance, these could be other datacenters similar to or the same as datacenter. Such an interconnection may allow for the formation of a distributed computing environment for improved redundancy, load balancing, and disaster recovery capabilities. By linking multiple datacenters, the data center environmentcan leverage geographically dispersed resources, optimizing performance and ensuring high availability.

706 704 706 702 The one or more network devicesmay include one or more of Personal Computer (PC), a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone, a server, a collection of servers, and/or any suitable computing device for sending and receiving signals over the communication network. In at least one example embodiment, the one or more network devicescorrespond to another datacenter, similar to or the same as datacenter.

702 706 170408 As noted above, the datacenterand/or the network device(s)may include storage devices and/or processing circuitry for carrying out computing tasks, for example, tasks associated with controlling the flow of data internally and/or over the communication network. Such processing circuitry may comprise software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, the processing circuitry may include a memory including executable instructions and a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) that executes the instructions on the memory. The memory may correspond to any suitable type of memory device or collection of memory devices configured to store instructions. Non-limiting examples of suitable memory devices that may be used include Flash memory, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), variants thereof, combinations thereof, or the like. In some embodiments, the memory and processor may be integrated into a common device (e.g., a microprocessor may include integrated memory). Additionally or alternatively, the processing circuitry may comprise hardware, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Other non-limiting examples of the processing circuitry include an Integrated Circuit (IC) chip, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a microprocessor, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a collection of logic gates or transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, or the like. Some or all of the processing circuitry may be provided on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) or collection of PCBs. It should be appreciated that any appropriate type of electrical component or collection of electrical components may be suitable for inclusion in the processing circuitry.

702 706 700 700 700 700 700 In addition, although not explicitly shown, it should be appreciated that the datacenterand network device(s)may include one or more communication interfaces for facilitating wired and/or wireless communication between one another and other unillustrated elements of the data center environment. These communication interfaces may include a variety of technologies, including but not limited to Ethernet ports, fiber optic connections, Wi-Fi® transceivers, Bluetooth® modules, and cellular communication modules for integration and interoperability among the various components within the data center environment. Furthermore, it should be understood that the data center environmentmay include additional components and functionalities within the scope of the present disclosure. These components may comprise, without limitation, additional processing units, specialized accelerators (such as Tensor Processing Units or TPUs), enhanced security modules, and redundant power supplies. The inclusion of these elements is intended to ensure that the data center environmentis robust, scalable, and capable of meeting diverse operational requirements. Any variations, modifications, or adaptations of the described elements that fall within the spirit and scope of the disclosure are considered to be encompassed by the present disclosure. This includes any combinations, sub-combinations, or enhancements of the various described elements to achieve improved performance, reliability, and efficiency in the data center environment.

8 FIG. 800 illustrates a fat tree topologyfor a datacenter, according to at least one embodiment. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to a fat tree topology. Other network topologies may also be contemplated within the scope of the disclosure. Examples of such alternative topologies include, but are not limited to, Slim Fly topology, which is designed to reduce the number of hops and cable lengths between nodes; Dragonfly topology, which aims to enhance network scalability and reduce latency through a hierarchical group of interconnected switches; and other hierarchical or non-hierarchical topologies that may be optimized for specific performance, scalability, or cost considerations. The principles and innovations disclosed herein can be applied to these and other network topologies to achieve similar advantages and benefits. Any modifications, variations, or adaptations of the network topologies that fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure are considered to be encompassed by this disclosure. In related art systems, a fat tree topology may use the same electrical switching devices on all layers (edge, aggregation, core). For example, each switching device may be 1 U switch, where 1 U refers to the industry standard size for rack-mounted switch and/or server. The interconnection between switches of different layers may be accomplished with optical links using active optical cables and optical transceivers implemented in a pluggable form factor (also referred to as “pluggables”).

9 FIG. 2 5 FIGS.- 900 900 910 912 909 910 916 916 920 902 904 932 916 920 920 902 920 908 904 912 902 904 904 910 912 908 904 932 932 932 932 932 932 932 916 916 916 916 910 916 916 illustrates an example network architecturecapable of deploying vertically integrated wavelength-division optical technology, according to at least one embodiment. Example network architectureincludes a devicein communication with a deviceover a communication network. The deviceincludes a transceiverfor sending and receiving signals, for example, data signals. The data signals may be digital or optical signals modulated with data or other suitable signals for carrying data. The transceivermay include a digital data source, a transmitter, a receiver, and processing circuitrythat controls the transceiver. The digital data sourcemay include suitable hardware and/or software for outputting data in a digital format (e.g., in binary code and/or thermometer code). The digital data output by the digital data sourcemay be retrieved from memory (not illustrated) or generated according to input (e.g., user input). The transmitterincludes suitable software and/or hardware for receiving digital data from the digital data sourceand outputting data signals according to the digital data for transmission over the communication networkto a receiverof device. Transmitteran/or receivermay deploy some, any, or all systems and/or devices disclosed above in relation to. The receiverof deviceand/or devicemay include suitable hardware and/or software for receiving signals, such as data signals from the communication network. For example, the receivermay include components for receiving optical signals. The processing circuitrymay comprise software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, the processing circuitrymay include a memory including executable instructions and a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) that executes the instructions on the memory. The memory may correspond to any suitable type of memory device or collection of memory devices configured to store instructions. Non-limiting examples of suitable memory devices that may be used include Flash memory, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), variants thereof, combinations thereof, or the like. In some embodiments, the memory and processor may be integrated into a common device (e.g., a microprocessor may include integrated memory). Additionally or alternatively, the processing circuitrymay comprise hardware, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Other non-limiting examples of the processing circuitryinclude an Integrated Circuit (IC) chip, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a General Processing Unit (GPU), a microprocessor, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a collection of logic gates or transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, or the like. Some or all of the processing circuitrymay be provided on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) or collection of PCBs. It should be appreciated that any appropriate type of electrical component or collection of electrical components may be suitable for inclusion in the processing circuitry. The processing circuitrymay send and/or receive signals to and/or from other elements of the transceiverto control the overall operation of the transceiver. The transceiveror selected elements of the transceivermay take the form of a pluggable card or controller for the device. For example, the transceiveror selected elements of the transceivermay be implemented on a network interface card (NIC).

912 936 909 908 916 936 936 910 912 916 920 The devicemay include a transceiverfor sending and receiving signals, for example, data signals over a channelof the communication network. The same or similar structure of the transceivermay be applied to transceiver, and thus, the structure of transceiveris not described separately. Although not explicitly shown, devicesandand the transceiversandmay include other processing devices, storage devices, and/or communication interfaces generally associated with computing tasks, such as sending and receiving data

Some portions of the detailed descriptions above are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “identifying,” “determining,” “storing,” “adjusting,” “causing,” “returning,” “comparing,” “creating,” “stopping,” “loading,” “copying,” “throwing,” “replacing,” “performing,” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Examples of the present disclosure also relate to an apparatus for performing the methods described herein. This apparatus can be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it can be a general-purpose computer system selectively programmed by a computer program stored in the computer system. Such a computer program can be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, other type of machine-accessible storage media, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.

The methods and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems can be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear as set forth in the description below. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages can be used to implement the teachings of the present disclosure.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiment examples will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the above description. Although the present disclosure describes specific examples, it will be recognized that the systems and methods of the present disclosure are not limited to the examples described herein, but can be practiced with modifications within the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the present disclosure should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Other variations are within the spirit of present disclosure. Thus, while disclosed techniques are susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof are shown in drawings and have been described above in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit disclosure to specific form or forms disclosed, but on contrary, intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within spirit and scope of disclosure, as defined in appended claims.

Use of terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in context of describing disclosed embodiments (especially in context of following claims) are to be construed to cover both singular and plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context, and not as a definition of a term. Terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. “Connected,” when unmodified and referring to physical connections, is to be construed as partly or wholly contained within, attached to, or joined together, even if there is something intervening. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within range, unless otherwise indicated herein and each separate value is incorporated into specification as if it were individually recited herein. In at least one embodiment, use of term “set” (e.g., “a set of items”) or “subset” unless otherwise noted or contradicted by context, is to be construed as a nonempty collection comprising one or more members. Further, unless otherwise noted or contradicted by context, term “subset” of a corresponding set does not necessarily denote a proper subset of corresponding set, but subset and corresponding set may be equal.

Conjunctive language, such as phrases of form “at least one of A, B, and C,” or “at least one of A, B and C,” unless specifically stated otherwise or otherwise clearly contradicted by context, is otherwise understood with context as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may be either A or B or C, or any nonempty subset of set of A and B and C. For instance, in illustrative example of a set having three members, conjunctive phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” and “at least one of A, B and C” refer to any of following sets: {A}, {B}, {C}, {A, B}, {A, C}, {B, C}, {A, B, C}. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require at least one of A, at least one of B and at least one of C each to be present. In addition, unless otherwise noted or contradicted by context, term “plurality” indicates a state of being plural (e.g., “a plurality of items” indicates multiple items). In at least one embodiment, number of items in a plurality is at least two, but can be more when so indicated either explicitly or by context. Further, unless stated otherwise or otherwise clear from context, phrase “based on” means “based at least in part on” and not “based solely on.”

Operations of processes described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. In at least one embodiment, a process such as those processes described herein (or variations and/or combinations thereof) is performed under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions and is implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or more computer programs or one or more applications) executing collectively on one or more processors, by hardware or combinations thereof. In at least one embodiment, code is stored on a computer-readable storage medium, for example, in form of a computer program comprising a plurality of instructions executable by one or more processors. In at least one embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that excludes transitory signals (e.g., a propagating transient electric or electromagnetic transmission) but includes non-transitory data storage circuitry (e.g., buffers, cache, and queues) within transceivers of transitory signals. In at least one embodiment, code (e.g., executable code or source code) is stored on a set of one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media having stored thereon executable instructions (or other memory to store executable instructions) that, when executed (i.e., as a result of being executed) by one or more processors of a computer system, cause computer system to perform operations described herein. In at least one embodiment, set of non-transitory computer-readable storage media comprises multiple non-transitory computer-readable storage media and one or more of individual non-transitory storage media of multiple non-transitory computer-readable storage media lack all of code while multiple non-transitory computer-readable storage media collectively store all of code. In at least one embodiment, executable instructions are executed such that different instructions are executed by different processors—for example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium store instructions and a main central processing unit (“CPU”) executes some of instructions while a graphics processing unit (“GPU”) executes other instructions. In at least one embodiment, different components of a computer system have separate processors and different processors execute different subsets of instructions.

Accordingly, in at least one embodiment, computer systems are configured to implement one or more services that singly or collectively perform operations of processes described herein and such computer systems are configured with applicable hardware and/or software that enable performance of operations. Further, a computer system that implements at least one embodiment of present disclosure is a single device and, in another embodiment, is a distributed computer system comprising multiple devices that operate differently such that distributed computer system performs operations described herein and such that a single device does not perform all operations.

Use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of disclosure and does not pose a limitation on scope of disclosure unless otherwise claimed. No language in specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to practice of disclosure.

All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

In description and claims, terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms may be not intended as synonyms for each other. Rather, in particular examples, “connected” or “coupled” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct or indirect physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it may be appreciated that throughout specification terms such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” or like, refer to action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities within computing system's registers and/or memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within computing system's memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

In a similar manner, term “processor” may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/or memory and transform that electronic data into other electronic data that may be stored in registers and/or memory. As non-limiting examples, “processor” may be a CPU or a GPU. A “computing platform” may comprise one or more processors. As used herein, “software” processes may include, for example, software and/or hardware entities that perform work over time, such as tasks, threads, and intelligent agents. Also, each process may refer to multiple processes, for carrying out instructions in sequence or in parallel, continuously or intermittently. In at least one embodiment, terms “system” and “method” are used herein interchangeably insofar as system may embody one or more methods and methods may be considered a system.

In present document, references may be made to obtaining, acquiring, receiving, or inputting analog or digital data into a subsystem, computer system, or computer-implemented machine. In at least one embodiment, process of obtaining, acquiring, receiving, or inputting analog and digital data can be accomplished in a variety of ways such as by receiving data as a parameter of a function call or a call to an application programming interface. In at least one embodiment, processes of obtaining, acquiring, receiving, or inputting analog or digital data can be accomplished by transferring data via a serial or parallel interface. In at least one embodiment, processes of obtaining, acquiring, receiving, or inputting analog or digital data can be accomplished by transferring data via a computer network from providing entity to acquiring entity. In at least one embodiment, references may also be made to providing, outputting, transmitting, sending, or presenting analog or digital data. In various examples, processes of providing, outputting, transmitting, sending, or presenting analog or digital data can be accomplished by transferring data as an input or output parameter of a function call, a parameter of an application programming interface or interprocess communication mechanism.

Although descriptions herein set forth example embodiments of described techniques, other architectures may be used to implement described functionality, and are intended to be within scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, although specific distributions of responsibilities may be defined above for purposes of description, various functions and responsibilities might be distributed and divided in different ways, depending on circumstances.

Furthermore, although subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that subject matter claimed in appended claims is not necessarily limited to specific features or acts described. Rather, specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claims.